Virmire: The End
by Canine Enigma
Summary: This is just a short one shot where Shepard tries to save Ashley AND Kaidan. As you can imagine, it doesn't go quite according to plan. Rated M just to be safe; there's some swearing (naturally, it IS a battlefield).


**Location: **_Virmire – 3__rd__ planet Hoc system_

"I'm arming the bomb Commander," Kaidan Alenko shouted into his transmitter as he fired a round from his pistol into an oncoming Geth Trooper.

"Kaidan, what are you doing?" Shepard yelled, immediately halting his sprint, with his squad doing the same. "That's insane."

Alenko keyed into the data pad on the nuke, "I'm making sure this bomb goes off. No matter- ugh" he yelped as a Trooper shot him, the projectile only being halted by his shields. Kaidan immediately raised his pistol and fired, blasting the machine's head from its shoulders. "No matter what." As his fingers flew over the keyboard he smiled. The timer atop the nuke read; 00:10:00 "Done Shepard, get Williams and leave. You've got ten minutes."

At this, Ashley screamed over the radio, "Screw that. We can handle ourselves. Go and get Kaidan."

Shepard stayed silent for several moments, "No! I can't let either of you die." He switched frequencies quickly, "Joker, fly to the bomb site… Garrus and Liara will meet with you there. After, get your ass over to Ash and Kirrahe… I'll be with them." Then turning to his squad he said, "Garrus, Liara- you know what to do… Tali and Wrex- you're with me. Go!"

The group split into two groups, running in opposite directions. While running, the Spectre switched back to his previous frequency, "Ash, I'm coming for you. Kaidan, just guard the bomb until Garrus and Liara show up."

At this moment, the Lieutenant mentioned something that Shepard had overlooked, "Um, Commander we have nine minutes left until this place goes to hell."

_Shit!_ "Can you delay the detonator?" An annoyed Commander Shepard asked.

"Negative Commander, the nuke's computer was kind of, you know… um, blown off."

Shepard looked to the pair beside him, "Let's go team, double-time." They immediately quickened their pace until Wrex shouted, "Shepard, look!"

_Oh God no… _When the First Human Spectre followed his Krogan companions gaze he saw the limp body of Ashley Williams being protectively shielded by Captain Kirrahe and a small group of surviving Salarians. Bodies lay strewn upon the ground, Salarian and Geth alike but the enemy onslaught had continued to come with a vengeance.

Shepard bolted towards the survivors and… _BOOM!_

He lost all feeling in his body as he was pommeled to the ground by a Destroyer and felt his lungs empty from the pressure. For the few following fateful seconds, Shepard gasped for breath until air found its way back into his body. Shepard lifted his gaze to see Wrex collide with his assailant before promptly exploding its head with a round from his enormous shotgun.

Immediately after recovering Shepard threw a quick thank-you to Wrex and while Tali threw a tech blast at an oncoming wave of Troopers, he continued his flight to where Ashley lay, pausing only to disable and destroy attacking Geth.

In a matter of twenty seconds Shepard had reached the group of fighters and was protecting the unconscious body of Ashley Williams. "What the hell happened here Captain?" he yelled over the din of battle to Kirrahe.

"Destroyer shot her… shields took most damage however damage to internal organs. Cause for concern." Kirrahe said speaking quickly while di.

Looking around Shepard saw that the Geth numbers were dwindling. Wrex tore apart the enemy with his hands and shotgun while Tali used her tech blasts and Kirrahe's squad was eliminating Geth with precision and speed. Soon as the last synthetic died with a fiery explosion, silence filled the AA tower.

"That's it?" the Krogan Warlord yelled to no one in particular, "That's all you've got?"

As if on cue, a low buzzing sound was heard and all eyes looked to the sky to see a figure standing aboard a hovering platform coming their way.

"Watch out!" Shepard had time to shout before Saren Arterius, the man he had been hunting for the last six months, descended from the sky.

_/|_|_|\_

00:07:36 _remaining_

_**Bomb Site**_

Kaidan Alenko dispatched a swarm of husks; throwing them from the cliff face with a single biotic push and without a moments rest firing through the chest plate of an incoming Trooper. Then he heard a wonderful sound… the whirring of the Normandy's engines. As the ship descended, the hostiles surrounding him were torn apart by its cannons at the hand of the greatest human pilot in the Galaxy, Jeff "Joker" Moreau.

Upon landing, the doors opened and the ramp lowered. As he began to ascend the ramp, Garrus leapt out, looked around and swore, "Why do I have to miss out on the action every time?" Kaidan smiled and pushed him towards the ship.

"Come on Vakarian, we don't have much time and I'm sure there'll be plenty more fighting where we're going." At his last few words Garrus' face brightened and the ascended the Normandy's ramp.

Halfway up the ramp Garrus stopped, "No there won't be; Shepard will have torn them to pieces by now."

"Just get your ass in there Vakarian, we're on a deadline," Kaidan snapped, "Get us over to the AA tower Joker!"

_/|_|_|\_

00:05:58 _remaining_

_**AA Tower**_

The First Human Spectre leapt immediately to cover, narrowly avoiding a biotic blast that struck where he had stood only moments before. Kirrahe and his squad did the same, and Wrex lifted Ashley effortlessly and thrust her out of the line of fire. Shepard tore himself from cover momentarily to fire three rounds from his HMWP at the rogue Spectre, however the projectiles bounced uselessly off of his powerful kinetic barrier. Saren looked at where he had been struck and smiled.

"I must say Shepard," he began, his voice cool yet menacing, "I'm impressed by your little diversion. My Geth were utterly convinced that the Salarians were the real threat but unfortunately for you, none of this matters. I can't let you disrupt what I've accomplished here."

Another blast crashed into the low wall that Shepard hid behind, shaking its foundations and he shuddered, "Why are you doing this Saren?"

Saren's tone of voice suddenly became deathly serious, "You've seen the visions from the beacon at Eden Prime, you of all people should know what the Reapers are capable of… They cannot be stopped."

"Bullshit!" Shepard shouted, a sudden rage building up within him, "We can stop whatever the _fuck_ they throw our way; you're just too afraid to try. What happened to the brave Turian Spectre. An asshole, but a _brave _one; a guy that didn't bow down to guys that think they can do whatever the hell they want 'cause they've got bigger guns?"

Saren paused for a moment, "I… I tried to fight at first but it's futile. The Reapers are the beginning of the universe _and_ the end. They want the cycle to repeat so it _will _repeat. The best we can do is make ourselves useful so we can live."

Shepard's tilted his shoulder to slip his HMWA rifle to the ground and picked it up in his unarmed hand, "Can't you see what's right in front of your eyes? You're indoctrinated. You haven't made a choice to survive; the _Reapers_ have made a choice to use you as a tool."

As Saren began to defend his case, Shepard adjusted his helmet so that he could only communicate via squad radio networks. "On my mark, open fire and blow him away."

"Everyone ready?" Shepard was assailed by a number of affirmations; "Ready," from Tali "Affirmative, Commander," from Kirrahe and, "Let's kick _ass_," from Wrex.

"Three, two, one… NOW!"

From behind Saren, six figures leapt from their hiding places with their weapons blazing; Kirrahe and the three surviving Salarians, Tali and Wrex. Saren was thrown from the platform from the sheer impact of the fire however his shields still managed to hold. Shepard vaulted over his cover and sprinted towards the fallen Turian firing bursts from both his HMWA and HMWP to keep him off his feet. But then, just as everything seemed to have been going so well, a wall exploded and in its place stood a Geth Prime, flanked by Destroyers on all sides. They fired.

The result was horrific. Two of Kirrahe's three Salarians fell in a shower of blood and the cargo crates that littered the grounds of the AA tower were destroyed. Wrex charged the squad of five solo, firing his shotgun like a raving lunatic. The first Destroyer received the full force of a Claymore shotgun to the face and the second was smashed in the eyepiece by Wrex's forehead and thrown into its squad mates. Before the other Geth had time to fire, Tali had thrown a Tech Blast, disabling all of their weapons, including Wrex's. "No guns!" Wrex screamed, "Like a _real_ fight!"

As the Geth were slaughtered, Shepard was the only one left fighting Saren. The Turian had managed to hit Shepard with a mad biotic swipe, giving him the seconds he needed to get back into the fight. Shepard was up just in time to avoid a shot from Saren's HWMP by diving into cover. He pointed his assault rifle out from cover and, firing blind, sprayed the area before him. Soon the gun had over heated and Shepard started for his pistol as a hand grabbed his shoulder.

He looked into the smiling face of the rogue Spectre pointing a pistol at his head. Shepard's hand stopped. "Endgame Shepard," Saren said, "You never really stood a chance you know. It was all leading to this moment; the running, the fighting and the killing. It was always going to end with your death, and my victory. Goodbye… David." Shepard closed his eyes as Saren's finger tightened on the trigger and he fired.

_/|_|_|\_

00:03:11 _remaining_

_**Normandy SR-1**_

Joker checked with the ship's VI to see for any hull damage as he zoomed towards the AA tower. "Hull integrity is at 96%, minor damage from Geth plasma weapons was taken, but the shields took most of the damage. No immediate danger."

_Thank god!_ Joker exclaimed internally. "Distance from target?" he asked.

"We should arrive within 27 seconds."

Joker turned his head slightly, "Get ready everyone. We're gonna need to do this quick if we wanna save Shepard's ass."

_/|_|_|\_

00:03:00 _remaining_

_**AA Tower**_

Saren's pistol fired harmlessly into the air as he was struck from behind with a disabled Geth Trooper's arm.

Shepard kept his eyes cast downwards, "Just hurry up you asshole."

"Uh- Shepard…" a familiar voice said.

Shepard opened his eyes and looked up, "Ash?"

"Hey Shepard," replied Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, smiling, however pain was also displayed on her features. Only then did Shepard notice the wounds that covered her body. Most noticeable however was her side; she clutched at it with her hand but blood continued to seep through the wide gash that had been left from the Destroyer's blast. She grabbed his hand to steady herself.

"Ash, are you o-" _BLAM!_ Ashley's face exploded in a gruesome display of blood and she collapsed to the ground. "NO!" Shepard whirled around to see a bruised Saren Arterius holding a pistol before him with a hideous grin on his face.

A primal roar emerging from his lips, Shepard bolted towards the Turian and slammed into him, forcing them both to the ground. Saren's maniacal smile was quickly replaced by a snarl which was then immediately preceded by a roar of agony as the human Spectre pummelled him with his fists.

In a matter of moments, the Turian's face became mangled from blow upon blow and dark blue blood covered his damaged features. "Die… You… son… of a… BITCH!" Shepard screamed, his fist making contact with flesh at each word. Suddenly, Shepard halted his onslaught and rose slightly, and lifted his hand up high before clenching it into a fist. An orange glow surrounded his fist and it soon formed into a blade and Saren gasped.

Shepard stared into the eyes of the traitor that had brought about one too many deaths and spat. He prepared to lower the blade and… was slammed backwards by a barrage of gunfire.

He looked up quickly and saw a _swarm_ of Geth charging towards him, their weapons ablaze. He swore and turned to break into a sprint. SHIELDS: 46%. Plasma shots continually collided with him as he ran, and his shield strength rapidly dropped. He leapt over a crate just as one last shot hit his shields and broke through. "Aagh!" he screamed as plasma tore through his shoulder armour into the flesh beneath.

Shepard leant against the hard box and breathed deeply, letting the sounds of battle amalgamate into white noise and began to let himself just _stop_ trying. "Shepard!" Tali's voice came in over his helmet's microphone and forced him back into attention, "The Normandy's here, come _on_."

The Spectre stole a glance and saw the Normandy hovering over the edge of the AA Tower with its side door open. "Get the fuck in everyone." Joker's voice said over the squads private radio link, "I'm sorry but I can't move any closer so you _are_ going to have to jump."

Five figures leapt out from their respective cover and ran towards the ledge. Tali, Kirrahe and his final surviving squad member were the first in, swiftly being followed by Wrex who threw two Troopers as he leapt, causing them to fall to their demise. Shepard was brutally assailed with gunfire and shots tore through his shields leaving his skin burning in wounds that covered his body, but he managed to maintain his sprint. A Geth Trooper hefted a launcher and loosed a rocket that chased the fleeing Spectre. It missed by little more than a hairsbreadth and _exploded_ into the very ledge of the tower, causing large chunks of concrete to fall. The Normandy veered further away from the AA Tower and Shepard was forced to halt.

He took several steps back and bolted forward and threw himself across the gap with his fingers outstretched. And his fingers missed the deck by the smallest of distances and he began to fall before being caught by a very large set of arms belonging to one Urdnot Wrex.

The doors hissed shut and the Normandy sped away. "You little bastard, Shepard," Wrex began, "you'll have to try harder than that if you want to lose _us_!"

Shepard's vision began to blur and he slumped in Wrex's arms slightly. "Hey," Tali's voice began, "where's Ashley? Did she get on earlier?"

Tears began to form at the corners of Shepard's eyes and he could feel exhaustion pulling at him. He began to form the words with his mouth but failed to produce any sound and within moments, was unconscious in Wrex's arms.


End file.
